1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bed for capturing a radiation image which is to be connected to a radiation detector, and a radiation image capturing system including such a bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, there have widely been used radiation image capturing apparatus which apply a radiation to a subject and guide the radiation that has passed through the subject to a radiation conversion panel, which captures a radiation image from the radiation. Known forms of the radiation conversion panel include a conventional radiation film for recording a radiation image by way of exposure, and a stimulable phosphor panel for storing a radiation energy representing a radiation image in a phosphor and reproducing the radiation image as stimulated light by applying stimulating light to the phosphor. The radiation film with the recorded radiation image is supplied to a developing device to develop the radiation, or the stimulable phosphor panel is supplied to a reading device to read the radiation image as a visible image.
In the operating room or the like, it is necessary to read and display a recorded radiation image immediately from a radiation conversion panel after the radiation image is captured for the purpose of quickly and appropriately treating the patient. As a radiation conversion panel which meets such a requirement, there has been developed a radiation detector having a solid-state detector for converting a radiation directly into an electric signal or converting a radiation into visible light with a scintillator and then converting the visible light into an electric signal to read a detected radiation image.
For capturing a radiation image with a radiation detector and transmitting information of the captured radiation image from the radiation detector to an external device, it is necessary to interconnect the radiation detector and the external device with a cable.
If the cable is connected to the radiation detector, then the cable may possibly present itself as an obstacle to the surgeons and assistants who are working in an operating room or the like that is equipped with many devices and instruments. When the cable has a portion entering the image detecting range of the radiation detector, the portion of the cable is also imaged in the radiation image captured in the radiation detector. As a result, a new radiation image free of the cable image has to be captured again.
If the radiation detector has no cable for performing communications and supplying electric power and transmits data by way of wireless communications, then the radiation detector needs to have a memory for temporarily storing the data and a battery for supplying electric power to various parts of the radiation detector, and hence is increased in size and weight.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-010175 discloses a bed for capturing a radiation image, the bed having a gripper for gripping a cable connected to an electronic cassette which houses a radiation detector therein. When the cable is gripped by the gripper, the cable is prevented from being positioned over the electronic cassette and presenting itself as an obstacle to surgeons and other staff members working along the bed. The bed also has a controller and a power supply for the electronic cassette.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-173907 reveals a method whereby the length of a cable connected to an electronic cassette which houses a radiation detector therein is optimized based on the distance between a connector mounted on a bed and the electronic cassette, the shoulder width of the subject, etc., and a wireless communication module is connected to the distal end of the cable for sending and receiving signals by way of wireless communications between the electronic cassette and an external device.
According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-010175, however, since the bed and an external device are connected to each other by the cable, the surgeons and other staff members who move around the bed have to be fully aware of the existence of the cable.
According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-173907, a battery as a source for supplying electric power for transmitting and receiving data needs to be installed in the radiation detector for transmitting and receiving data through the wireless communication module that is connected to the distal end of the cable. However, the battery makes the radiation detector relatively large in size and weight. Another problem is that when the battery installed in the radiation detector is to be charged, the wireless communication module has to be disconnected from the distal end of the cable, and a battery charger has to be connected to the distal end of the cable.